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WASHINGTON (April 17, 2023) – The ���������� Association (AHA) today announced that the 2023 Justin Ford Kimball Innovators Award will be awarded to Jim Hinton, former president and CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas. The award recognizes people or organizations that have developed or introduced an innovative approach to health care financing and/or health care delivery to improve access or coordination of care.

“Jim’s keen intellect, leadership and vision led to innovative care models that delivered lower cost, higher quality care for patients,” said Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO. “The 40 years Jim has spent as a leader in the health care field coincides with some of the most transformational changes in the hospital field’s history, and he has contributed to many that have made care more accessible and convenient to patients.”

During his time at Baylor Scott & White, Hinton strengthened the organization’s patient safety focus, improved employee engagement and drove strong operational performance. He focused on patient experiences by implementing initiatives to reduce costs, standardize processes and drive innovation. In addition, he helped launch an innovative digital program beyond traditional telemedicine, which was critical to the system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to Baylor Scott & White Health, Hinton spent more than three decades at Presbyterian Health Services in Albuquerque, N.M., including launching its own health plan and becoming one of the government’s “pioneer” plans where hospitals would be penalized or rewarded according to patient outcomes. Under Hinton’s leadership, Presbyterian entered into the state’s Medicaid managed care program in 1997. He is widely recognized for his success navigating a system transformation from being volume-focused to value-focused.

Hinton served as chair of the AHA’s Board of Trustees in 2014. He also has chaired AHA’s Executive Committee, Operations Committee, Committee on Nominations, Strategic Leadership Group on Provider-Led Health Plans and Committee on Research. Hinton served the AHA on multiple task forces and advisory groups.

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Contact:    Colin Milligan, cmilligan@aha.org
                  Ben Teicher, bteicher@aha.org